San Carlos Airport (SQL) narrowly avoided losing its air traffic controllers after a dispute over contract renewal with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
On Jan. 29, SQL air traffic controllers announced they would leave indefinitely starting Feb. 1 due to lower pay in a contract renewal. The FAA awarded the contract to staff the air traffic control tower through a third-party service, Robinson Aviation (RVA).
SQL, located about 12 miles south of San Francisco and between Redwood Shores and San Carlos, is a small airport that houses many small planes like Cessnas. It is located at the heart of three bustling international airports — San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), and Oakland (OAK) — and overlaps airspace with aircraft landing and taking off at these airports.
“Some concerns could be that the planes could get confused and not know where they are supposed to land or take off from, so it’s a big safety hazard. This is because air traffic control helps guide the planes right, and without that, the planes could potentially crash with each other,” said Sacred Heart Preparatory student and plane enthusiast Malia Toy.
Last year, the county reported that 90,000 aviation operations occurred across the 25 businesses and 500 aircraft at SQL. SQL provides emergency response services including air ambulances, medevac flights, and law enforcement patrols. Additionally, the airport is home to several instructional flight schools.
This announcement of the departure of air traffic controllers came the same day as a devastating plane crash in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 passengers. The plane crash involved a military helicopter that collided midair with a flight from Wichita, Kansas. It was caused by an understaffing of air traffic controllers at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
This further worried local citizens such as Carlmont sophomore Coco Tomita.
“Losing air traffic controllers would be a problem because they control who can depart or land at what time to prevent crashes,” Tomita said.
The old contracts had expired, and the new contracts did not offer “locality pay to account for the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area,” the county stated. The locality pay amounted to an estimated $18,000, according to KTVU.
The contract was declined, and in a failed effort to ensure safety, the county requested temporary air traffic controllers from the FAA.
The details of the negotiation were unclear, but at around noon on Jan. 31, RVA came to an agreement with the air traffic controllers. For now, the airport will remain staffed with air traffic controllers, a vital part of aviation, according to the FAA.
San Mateo County supervisor Ray Muller announced the continuance of normalcy at the airport.
“The San Carlos airport will be staffed business as usual going forward. This is a win for public safety in San Mateo County, and huge thanks to Congressman Mullin for his work with the FAA,” Muller said.
Since the airport’s opening in 1948, only one fatal crash has occurred. Ensuring air traffic controllers is vital to keeping the airport and the citizens around it safe.
“I drive by that airport every day, so I am glad it will remain in safe operation,” Lee said.
